This blog used to be about politics. Not so much anymore as I have worked through
my fascination with that subject. It now seems appropriate that with a new president
and the end of the Bush nightmare that I move on to new subjects that are more in
line with my current interests. I may still occasionally express an opinion about
political matters but for the most part I will be commenting on music, photography
and personal observations. Thank you for reading.

I spend a little time here and there leaving comments on other blogs. Primarily this is a good way to publicize my own site and engage in some good debates on various subjects. I love debates. I'm non-confrontational by nature but I like to hear what others have to say and try to see how well my point of view stands up under scrutiny.

But I've noticed that whenever I leave a comment on a subject that has various sides and nuances then invariably someone comes along and mentions that I failed to address one point or another. I think to myself "Of course I didn't, I wanted to keep my comments from being a ten page dissertation!"

But that's the way it goes. You either make some point or just not say anything at all. Many times I've started a post here or elsewhere that would take too much time and effort to complete with any justice that I just hit delete and go about some other business. In your head its easy to sum up complicated thoughts, but as you set about writing them down you quickly realize that the only way to really explain yourself would be a book of some kind. I never want to just resort to quick cliche phrases or rely on "truisms" which serve to short circuit real inquiry.

I have post right now sitting in draft phrase where I talk about the Israel/Palestinian situation, a heated topic that I think many people have oversimplified. I don't want to make that same mistake, but I'm not sure I can do so without digging myself into some pretty deep holes with certain idealogical zealots.

The internet, as with all forms of communication imposes its own limitations. Most media forms share a common trait of granting special advantages to compressed forms of thought. Simple, soundbyte ideas dominate a medium that rewards brevity. Our best political spinmeisters make their living finding the quick and easy ways to push people's buttons. It has had an impact on the way we look at the world. Not for the good I say. It can lead to the outright rejection of phrases and words because of their emotional baggage. Things to remember come election season where I suspect the language will be stretch thinner than it ever has before.